With India remaining out of Nepal’s ongoing political crisis, there are many comments instead of aiming to concentrate on its trade relations. Kathmandu has said that the government of Nepal would not permit the current turmoil to interfere with India’s bilateral cooperation.
Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Nilambar Acharya, stated the government of K P Sharma Oli intends to conduct a Joint Commission session at the level of the Foreign Minister that would see Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Pradeep Gyawali, visiting India.
Meeting By Nepal With India:
“Preparations are on for the Joint Commission meeting and the visit by the foreign minister. The lower house of the Parliament has been dissolved but the government and other institutions are still working,” Acharya said this in the interview with reporters.
He further claimed that, following the strains over the Kalapani conflict, bilateral relations with India have strengthened significantly in the past few months.
A number of high-level tours from India to Nepal have taken place in recent days. At the end of November, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardan Shringla visited Nepal and held discussions with PM Oli and other senior members.
The Government officially reacted positively to the suggestion by the Indian Foreign Secretary to resume people-to-people contacts and to finalize an air bubble for travel between both the countries, the study said.
This was accompanied by virtual back-to-back sessions here between departments of commerce and energy, the analysis points out.
“With the visit by the Indian Army chief and then the foreign secretary, there has been a turnaround in the relationship and this trend is going to hold,” Acharya said.
On Monday, Indian Ambassador V M Kwatra met with the new Nepalese Ministry of Electricity, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and referred to bilateral power and energy cooperation and the adoption of joint initiatives.
In the recent months, considering his pro-China image and the previous position to release a new political map of Nepal, Oli had worked to strengthen relations with India and also mitigate suspicions that his government was working in the interest of China.
Sources in Kathmandu continue to insist that if India had decided earlier to answer the Kalapani question through dialogue, Nepal would never have released a new map.
Although India is not wed to the concept of unity throughout the ruling NCP, unlike China, the nation also understands that not only with the liberal elite in Kathmandu but also with the common person, any interference in the Nepal crisis is doubtful to go down well.
